Free Republic

The Iron Curtain is cracking. A civil war is brewing inside the DSA over its support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani — with his socialist comrades up in arms over his attendance at an Oct. 7 vigil and his support of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Youth chapters within the New York City Democratic Socialists of America endorsed a protest outside City Hall Wednesday — on the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel — condemning the mayor’s “failures to uphold his commitment to the Palestinian Liberation Movement.” Sources said that the heads of the local chapter moved swiftly to...

The US and russia are discussing the possibility of involving American investors in the Nord Stream gas pipelines and resuming russian gas supplies to Europe. Reuters reports this, citing five sources familiar with the situation. According to the agency, russian presidential advisor Kirill Dmitriev and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are participating in the talks. They have met in moscow and New York over the past few weeks. According to the sources, the Nord Stream issue remains on the agenda, although it is unclear how extensively the parties have discussed it. Kushner, as noted by Reuters, views business...

Intro: World situation on 8 October 2026 0:17 — ⚔️ "General Armageddon" returns: Surovikin's new mission 0:46 — 📰 The Telegraph: Putin orders destruction of Dnieper bridges 1:35 — 🕵️ Surovikin's path: from Wagner mut exile to comeback 3:03 — 🌉 Bridge strikes timeline: Southern Kyiv Bridge (Oct 1–2) 4:03 — 💥 Northern Kyiv Bridge hit (Oct 3–4) 4:33 — 🎯 Zaporizhzhia bridge: craters & six glide bombs (Oct 5–7) 6:03 — 🔮 What's next if Surovikin takes full command 6:14 — 🇺🇦 Zelensky demands Starlink authorization for deep strikes on Russia 7:22 — 🇺🇸 Ukraine–US talks set for Oct...

President Trump claimed that his administration is “having productive discussions” and vowed to hold off on resuming attacks against the Islamic Republic before the midterm elections. “We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the president wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “[W]hile Iran is in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, with Oil flowing in Record Numbers of Barrels through the Hormuz Strait,” he added, “we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections.” The president has long been rumored...

The Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, has repeatedly said that the fall of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is inevitable and will happen faster than Kyiv thinks. Recent trends on the battlefield paint a different picture. A monthslong Ukrainian counteroffensive in the northern part of the Donbas has thwarted Russian efforts to encircle the remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the region. Russia, Western analysts say, has lost dozens of square miles of territory during the Ukrainian campaign, which Kyiv is calling Operation Vivaldi. In the southern Donbas, Russia continues to mount furious assaults to break through Ukrainian lines. But Kyiv...

Regardless of why Putin might have held off on this for so long, he’s now arguably motivated at least in part by the tantalizing possibility of reaching big-ticket resource deals with the US after the conflict ends, the details of which his and Trump’s envoys have been negotiating for over a year already. The New York Times cited allegedly intercepted Russian communications to report that Russia plans to obliterate Ukraine’s power, heating, and water systems this winter. While their claim can’t be confirmed, it aligns with Putin mildly “escalating to de-escalate” over the summer in response to Zelensky’s strike campaign,...

On Sunday, 4 October, Dmitry Medvedev threatened Armenia, saying that it “could transform into a second Ukraine”. This refers to the Armenians’ aspirations for closer ties with the European Union, which do not please Russia, as it wishes to keep Armenia within its sphere of influence. On Sunday, 4 October, Dmitry Medvedev gave an interview to Iranian state television. In it, he stated that the West is testing the “strength of the relationship” connecting Armenia and Russia, warning Yerevan against changing its political course. “The current Armenian authorities have decided to change direction. I am certain that this will not...

The Biden administration’s effort to combat alleged threats against school boards amid a wave of heated parent protests triggered sustained internal resistance within the Justice Department and FBI, documents released by the DOJ show. "Five years ago, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an infamous memorandum at the urging of the National School Boards Association and White House officials, directing the FBI and United States Attorneys to consider looking for a federal hook to prosecute parents exercising their right to free speech," Blanche posted to X on Monday, when the DOJ released the "Report to Expose the Weaponization of Government Against...

The sale of Lukoil's international assets, worth around $20 billion, has moved from sanctions policy into the talks between Washington and Moscow, with a Boehly-led consortium backed by Gulf investors and a US state agency challenging Carlyle's earlier agreement. Lukoil announced an agreement to sell its international assets to the American group Carlyle on January 29, 2026, following US sanctions issued in 2025. American investor Todd Boehly has assembled a new consortium, including Gulf investors and the US International Development Finance Corporation, to compete for the acquisition. The sale involves energy assets worth approximately $20 to $22 billion, including oil...

This video describes the military situation in Ukraine on the 28th of September 2026 00:00 — 👋 Introduction: the attack that won't end 00:16 — 🚀 One of the biggest strikes on Kyiv — still ongoing 01:28 — 🌙 165 drones overnight, 112 claimed intercepted 01:55 — ⛽ Up to five gas stations destroyed by morning 02:40 — 🔥 Brovary: five warehouses now black zones 04:37 — 🏛️ National Academy of Sciences wiped out 05:46 — 🖥️ Southern data center completely destroyed 07:08 — 📵 Dreamline collapses — the internet dominoes fall 08:47 — 🎙️ Peskov: Ukraine has already begun...

Investing.com -- Saudi Aramco has informed at least two oil refining customers in Europe that they will receive no crude oil next month following an attack on the kingdom's main pipeline to the Red Sea, according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter...

Defying Iran and heading through the Strait of Hormuz is a gamble. But like all the best gambles, it is a lucrative one, so crews are inclined to fancy their odds. To counter the high insurance costs for buyers, countries such as Iraq and Qatar have been offering crude oil at steep discounts. “People just assume one ship in 12 or one ship in 15 is going to get hit by an Iranian drone, but you make enough money on the rest of them,” said Rory Johnston, founder of the market research firm Commodity Context.

Tusk’s casualty disclosure and Kushner’s challenge to Putin bring an uncomfortable question into the open: do the assumptions sustaining the Ukraine war still add up? Diplomacy becomes more difficult when abstractions acquire numbers. For years, the Ukraine war has been discussed through broad formulations: sufficient support, sustainable defense, battlefield momentum, acceptable terms. They provide governments with considerable room to maneuver because none requires an immediate answer to the harder question of what the war is consuming and whether that consumption can continue. Donald Tusk has now supplied a number. Speaking before the Polish parliament, the prime minister said Ukrainian partners...

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran on Friday for a government-organized rally calling on civilians to join the military and prepare to “sacrifice their lives.” > It was the largest demonstration in the country since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Bern, 18.09.2026 — Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, hybrid threats and critical dependencies pose challenges for the state, the economy and society. With the 2026 Security Policy Strategy, the Federal Council is positioning Switzerland to navigate this environment. The strategic priorities for the coming years are to strengthen resilience, improve capabilities for resistance and protection, and strengthen defence capabilities. On 18 September, the Federal Council took note of the results of the consultation process and approved the Security Policy Strategy. Work has already begun on implementing its 10 objectives and 46 measures. The international security situation has become increasingly...

New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The Defense Department's inspector general this week released a fresh report on the war in Iran that revealed "equipment losses" worth up to $3.7 billion — including nearly 60 aircraft. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector general added that U.S. Central Command reported Iranian strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

For Americans who follow the Russian-Ukrainian war, the past few months must look very strange. In the first half of summer, the story from Kyiv – and the many western media outlets that repeated it – was that Ukraine was winning. Then, not long after the NATO summit in July, Kyiv announced it lacked the interceptors to prevent a winter disaster. The country needed 300 missiles to survive, we were told. Even if these 300 missiles arrive, they are unlikely to protect a country as large as Ukraine from the sheer volume of Russian ballistic attacks and glide-bomb strikes. Now...

A neo-Nazi who may have interacted with would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks online revealed himself to be Bjorn Leif Hjelmerud of Norway, The Daily Mail reported. Hjelmerud admitted to being in contact with a “Tom Crooks” YouTube account believed by some to be the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, shooter who nearly took the president’s life, the outlet reported citing a text exchange with Hjelmerud. A member of the white supremacist Nordic Resistance Movement, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, Hjelmerud egged on violent comments from “Tom Crooks” about overthrowing the government in a 2020 YouTube comments section. “If a gun and...

This video describes the military situation in Ukraine on the 10th of September 2026 00:00 — 📅 Introduction and key events overview 00:18 — 👩‍🦰 Ukraine orders 150,000 women’s winter jackets — mobilization signal 00:57 — 🌍 SVR claims EU is demanding Ukraine mobilize women 01:57 — ⚔️ Putin’s plan: finish Slaviansk-Druzhkovka battle by early 2027 02:22 — 🛸 Russian drone attacks continue across Kyiv 03:18 — ⛽ First gas station in Kyiv destroyed — "fuel war" begins 04:57 — 📄 US representatives reportedly brought capitulation terms, not peace 05:30 — 🚢 Ship damaged off Odesa; M15 gas station near...

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wants to halt military and financial support for Ukraine should she come to power. She proposes convening a major peace conference and seeking a diplomatic resolution to the war. Her opponent, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, has described the refusal to provide aid to Kyiv as a move that benefits Russia…